When I think of masculinity or being masculine, I think of an athletic, toned, good looking, and passionate man. Being athletic is almost always associated with being masculine. Why is this? Does our culture believe that you must be athletic to be a man? I believe it is a huge stereotype that men are forced to meet. In football the men are huge, basketball they are tall and muscled, in baseball they are all sizes, and soccer they are usually short and stocky. Football and Baseball are the more popular sports in America. They are seen as manly and almost mean. We compare sports to the military. In times without war we use sports as our dangerous and manly thing to do. Being in the military is what we consider masculine because they are risking their lives to save ours. All in all being masculine is a stereotype we put to things such as sports and military. When women are in sports and military are they considered masculine?
I agree with this for the most part, the only difference in opinion for me is that when I think of "athletic" I also think women.
ReplyDeleteBut what about some of the players in football? Masculinity most of the time is defined as strong, fit, muscular men. Ive seen some of the football players out there and have wondered how they even run cause they have these huge bellies! Are they considered masculine or athletic?
ReplyDeleteThe football players that have big bellies are usually on the line. So I consider them both masculine and athletic. Because they have muscles, mostly in their arms and legs. The big bellies are used in the sport itself, in helping block. Each sport has a different type of athletic body, yet they are still simliar.
ReplyDeleteI think often there's a stereotype that women in the military are somehow unnaturally masculine. Lady soldiers don't often get the respect and treatment that they really deserve, because people just don't understand how they fit into the whole "masculine" definition.
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